As many brokers and other investment professionals know, investing in a REIT, or Real Estate Investment Trust, is something that’s best left to experienced, sophisticated investors. There’s a reason for that, and some recent activities have proven, once again, that illiquid REITs are definitely not for amateurs.

There are two types—publicly traded and nontraded. While both file papers with the SEC, file regular reports and must return 90% to shareholders, there are obvious differences. Of course, one is traded publicly, and the other isn’t. The idea is that eventual dividends come from the real estate that it’s invested in.